Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,310,000 shares, a decline of 6.9% from the September 30th total of 10,000,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,970,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Alcoa Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AA traded down $0.47 during trading on Thursday, hitting $40.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,904,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,896,217. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $36.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.55. Alcoa has a fifty-two week low of $23.80 and a fifty-two week high of $45.48. The company has a market capitalization of $10.36 billion, a PE ratio of -22.78 and a beta of 2.42.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 7.29% and a negative net margin of 5.14%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.14) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Alcoa will post 0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Alcoa's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AA shares. B. Riley Financial restated a "neutral" rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Alcoa in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Alcoa from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. B. Riley raised shares of Alcoa from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alcoa

In other news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total transaction of $1,009,335.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,317 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,423,935.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alcoa

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Alcoa by 6.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,665,106 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $265,132,000 after buying an additional 390,930 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in Alcoa in the 2nd quarter valued at $93,061,000. L1 Capital Pty Ltd bought a new position in Alcoa in the 1st quarter worth approximately $72,658,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Alcoa by 29.8% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,067,742 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $69,869,000 after acquiring an additional 475,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Alcoa by 43.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,478,424 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $49,958,000 after buying an additional 444,393 shares during the last quarter. 82.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alcoa

Alcoa Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells bauxite, alumina, and aluminum products in the United States, Spain, Australia, Iceland, Norway, Brazil, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Alumina and Aluminum. It engages in bauxite mining operations; and processes bauxite into alumina and sells it to customers who process it into industrial chemical products, as well as aluminum smelting and casting businesses.